New Orleans Pelicans say they will honor Anthony Davis' trade request on their "own terms"
The New Orleans Pelicans announced Monday that superstar forward Anthony Davis has requested a trade, and said they would move the five-time All-Star and former MVP on their "own terms." The team said Davis' representatives informed leadership that he does not intend to sign a contract extension to stay in New Orleans.
"Although we are disappointed in this decision, our organization's top priority is to bring an NBA championship to our city and fans and build our team for long-term success," the team said in a statement. "Relative to specific talks of a trade, we will do this on our terms and our timeline. One that makes the most sense for our team and it will not be dictated by those outside of our organization."
The Pelicans, who are 22-28 and six games out of the Western Conference playoffs, said they have requested the league to "strictly enforce the tampering rules" surrounding a potential trade involving Davis.
Davis is averaging 29.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game this season.
According to CBS Sports, Davis' top destinations include the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. The Celtics, however, would need to wait until July 1 to trade for Davis due to a collective bargaining rule. Both Davis and Celtics guard Kyrie Irving have signed designated rookie contract extensions. NBA teams cannot roster more than one player on this type of extension.